Failure
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: What if they failed?
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Dern it! You see?! This is what happens when you write a story arc that won't go away! You keep dreaming up new versions for it! Argh! Why won't Lightning Squad Nightcrawler leave me alone? WHY?!!!  
  
[i]FUTURE WARNING: MATURE CONTENT WILL BE MENTIONED. NOTHING REALLY EXPLICIT BUT STILL, IT GETS PRETTY GRUESOME AT TIMES PEOPLE![/i]  
  
Without further adieu, an alternate to Freedom for Lightning Squad Nightcrawler and Shadowcat!  
  
***  
Even the best-laid plans could be fouled up.  
  
Kurt didn't understand how it could have gone wrong, but he couldn't dwell on it, if he wanted to at least get Kitty out of their destroyed world. Gritting his teeth as a bullet pierced his shoulder, Kurt drew his rapiers and lunged forward, slamming his fist on the activation button; sending Kitty through time and space to Earth 616.  
  
Groaning from the pain in his shoulder, Kurt turned his head just in time to take a blow fully in the face from Hauptmann Englande, sending him into darkness. ***  
He had hoped for too much with the scientist. The man had gone straight to the Reichminister after Kurt went up to him with his proposal to help him and Kitty get to Earth 616 before the Fuhrer and his army could. Moira had told the man to bluff through the whole thing with Kurt and Kitty, wanting to catch them in an act of high treason.  
  
It had worked of course. When Kurt told the man to press the button, he instead yelled out the signal and S.S officers came in guns drawn with Hauptmann Englande at the head. ***  
When Kurt woke up, he immediately wished that they had shot him through the heart or the head. He was chained to a bench in a truck with a power-nulling collar on. It wasn't an ordinary collar however. It was the kind with the tiny needles on the inside that jabbed into your neck and made you bleed when you turned your head either way.  
  
Not to mention that fact that Hauptmann Englande was sitting in front of him with such a look of pure satisfaction on his face that it made the fur on the back of his neck stand up on end.  
  
"Did you have a good sleep, Nightcrawler?" Hauptmann Englande asked, tilting his head to one side. "I really hope so. We wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable now would we?"  
  
"Where are we going?" Kurt asked, all ready knowing the answer to that stupid question. Hauptmann Englande lifted his eyebrows and laughed softly, shaking his head a bit.  
  
"Don't you know?" he asked. "You're going to the Court of the Reich. The Fuhrer himself is going to pass judgment on you for the crime of high treason to the Reich!" Without warning, he punched Kurt in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to curl up on himself and gasp for air.  
  
"Why did you have to step out of bonds, Nightcrawler?" Hauptmann Englande demanded. "Over a Jew no less! We found your journals. You had a Romani wedding to her? She had you absolutely bonkers for her didn't she?"  
  
"At least you can't stick your filthy dick into her anymore." Kurt whispered, gritting his teeth.  
  
"No, you're right about that." Hauptmann Englande agreed, smiling evilly. "But I can still stick it into you whenever I want to."  
  
"If you come near me with that thing I swear to God I'll rip it off with my bare claws!" Kurt hissed, narrowing his eyes.  
  
"How will you be able to do that with broken hands?" Hauptmann Englande asked innocently, his head tilted in a questioning manner.  
  
Kurt knew that he would wish he had died during that raid instead of live to go through a so-called trial. ***  
The Court of the Reich's public seats were filled with people who wanted to see what the Fuhrer would do with the rogue Lightning Squad fighter. The seats were in a wide circle in the whole room, surrounding a podium where the condemned would stand to await sentence.  
  
The Fuhrer had a high throne at the head of the circle so that he and the condemned could look at each other eye to eye.  
  
Kurt's wrists and ankles were chained to the podium, and when he looked up at Fuhrer, he understood why most of those standing on the podium would be reduced to begging on their knees for mercy at some point during the sentencing. He himself had to stop himself from falling to his knees from sheer exhaustion and pain from the collar.  
  
Meggan watched from the sidelines, hugging herself and biting her lower lip as the charges were read aloud for everyone to hear. She could feel the mixture of pain and fear in Kurt, and she closed her eyes and slowly tried to send him some calming waves.  
  
Kurt looked over his shoulder at Meggan before his attention was snapped back forward when the Fuhrer stood up and clapped his hands loudly.  
  
The sentence rather surprised Kurt and everyone in the Court of the Reich that day. He was not sentenced to die by gas or by shooting squad or anything. He wasn't even sentenced to die. He was sentenced to be imprisoned alone in a dark cell in a place the Fuhrer called the Bastille; after the old French prison.  
  
Kurt didn't understand the sentence, but when he saw the look on Hauptmann Englande's face, he understood completely and his body was filled with dread.  
  
Hauptmann Englande had a huge grin on his face that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame. ***  
Kitty didn't know what to do when she first appeared on the beach of Earth 616. she had tried to start the machine up again to go and get him, but it had landed on a rock that broke some of its circuits. She was stranded.  
  
She lived in a hotel for a week, trying to figure everything out. When she had finally summed up enough courage, she went to the Lighthouse.  
  
She had been met with suspicion by Excalibur; especially with her doppelganger and her tiny version of Lockheed the dragon.  
  
Kitty told them everything that had happened to her and Nightcrawler, including the failed escape for him. Meggan confirmed that what she was saying was the truth, and Excalibur soon relaxed and let Kitty stay with them.  
  
She changed her codename to StarPryde and she fought with them, ignoring the twinge in her stomach for a while before it became apparent that she was pregnant.  
  
Shadowcat should have been happy, she was pregnant with her Kurt's baby, but with the news came sorrow because there was no way that she or Excalibur could go and get him out of her old world.  
  
Her children would never know their father. 


	2. 2

Hauptmann Englande's broken hands threat wasn't just a threat, it was pretty much a promise.  
  
As soon as Kurt was put in his cell, the man came in with a club and smashed both of his hands until every bone was broken, making Kurt howl like an animal. He then proceeded to savagely take him, twisting his body in ways that almost left him with a snapped spine.  
  
Kurt's hands healed over time of course, but they did not heal properly. They were crooked and useless to him, causing him pain whenever he tried to pick something up, reducing him to having to bend down(with his hands held tightly to his chest) and eat his scraps of food like an animal.  
  
Hauptmann Englande must have been selling tickets for people who wanted to have a go with him like he was a whore or something. Every night people were coming in and reducing Kurt to a plaything. The women weren't so bad, there were a few who brought in mace or a shocker to torment him first, but most of them just wanted to see what he could do with his tail.  
  
He didn't want to think about the men who came in.  
  
And he really didn't want to think about the things that happened when Hauptmann Englande came in. *** [i]Three Years Later[/i]  
  
Kurt was getting too frail to even eat anymore. His muscles were all gone, and his once sleek and velvety fur was ruffled and filthy from the things that were constantly being splashed onto him. His ribs were completely visible, as was the bones in his face as his cheeks sunk in more and more as days passed by. His teeth were wasting away, cracking from the harsh blows dealt to his face, and growing mossy from his inability to brush them properly. The claws on his feet and fingers were long and twisted, cracking in places and giving his mangled hands pain all the time.  
  
Even the bones in his tail were starting to show.  
  
When the door to his cell was opened one morning, he flinched and moved his arms slowly to cover his eyes. He tried to press himself into the corner, but he could only manage to tremble and make a pitiful whimpering noise instead.  
  
"Kurt, it's me."  
  
Kurt lowered his arms and he smiled faintly as Meggan sat down in front of him, setting down the bowl of soup in her hands.  
  
"Meg..." he croaked, his tail making a pitiful attempt at a wag. Meggan slowly held up and spoon full, and most of it dribbled down the corners of Kurt's lips as he tried to open his mouth enough to let it in.  
  
"Don't try to talk." She said softly, wiping his mouth carefully. "I have something important to tell you."  
  
"Wha..?"  
  
"Hush now and eat." Meggan said, holding out the next spoonful. "They've been working on a new portal traveling machine for a while now. They're almost done too. Hauptmann Englande says it will be one more week before it's finished.  
  
"Do you know what my plan? I plan on taking the form of one of the workers and getting out of here like you wanted to." Kurt shook his head, moaning softly.  
  
"No... Trap..."  
  
"I won't get caught, Kurt." Meggan assured him. "You're the only one I'm telling this to. I'm taking you with me and we're going to find Kitty and live with her." Kurt shook his head slowly, tears falling down his cheeks slowly.  
  
"Can't..."  
  
"You know what?" Meggan asked, her eyes sparkling with determination. "I don't care what you say or think, Kurt! You and I are both getting out of here, and we're going to live happily on Earth 616! So hush up and finish this soup up!" Kurt didn't really have a good argument about that, so he closed his mouth and did what he had learned to do a lot over the years; he submitted, bowing his head and letting Meggan feed him. *** [i]One Week Later[/i]  
  
When his cell door was opened, Kurt expected Meggan and he lifted his head with a smile.  
  
Seeing another soldier standing in the doorway, he whimpered and shrank away as the man stepped into the room and crouched down to look at him.  
  
"Kurt," Meggan said, smiling at him kindly. "It's just me!" Kurt calmed down slowly, and he tilted his head to one side, smiling faintly at her.  
  
"Meg!" he whispered softly, his tail flopping once in greeting. "Go...now?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. Nodding, Meggan gently picked him up, cradling him in her arms.  
  
"That's right, Kurt!" she nodded. "We're getting the hell out of here!" With that, she started off, walking by the guards and soldiers she had killed on her way there.  
  
Who said blondes were airheads? 


	3. 3

"Kurt! Kurt, stay away from that crab, honey!" StarPryde called out to her son, watching as the boy poked a resting crab with the tip of his tail. She quickly ran over as the crab raised up a claw to grab his tail and she picked him up, sighing softly as her three year old smiled at her charmingly.  
  
"What am I to do with you, Kurt?" she asked, heading up to the Lighthouse. "You need to take your nap."  
  
"Don' wanna." Kurt said, yawning through his words.  
  
"Your sister Johanna is." StarPryde pointed out. "Don't you want to..."  
  
That was when the machine crash-landed about a few feet in front of her, nearly knocking her over and scaring Kurt.  
  
Meggan opened the door slowly, holding Kurt in her arms still. The trip had knocked him unconscious, and she was worried that he was seriously hurt. When she saw Kitty, she smiled faintly, stepping out of the machine.  
  
"We need to help Kurt right away!" she said. "Please!" ***  
Moira was tending to Kurt in the med lab while Meggan told everyone what had happened after Kurt sent Kitty to this world. She kept her distance away from Captain Britain however, fearing that she would end up snapping and attacking him just because he was the doppelganger to Hauptmann Englande.  
  
"I should have jumped out when I had the chance." StarPryde whispered softly. Meggan shook her head, resting a hand on hers.  
  
"It wouldn't have done us any good." She explained. "Kurt would have died if you had been captured by Hauptmann Englande and his men. The only thing that kept him alive was you." She looked over at the two sleeping children, and she smiled faintly.  
  
"And besides, these two wouldn't be here if you hadn't of gotten away now would they?" she asked. StarPryde shrugged faintly, biting her lower lip as she thought about.  
  
"But do you think that the Reich of your world will try to get to this world again?" Nightcrawler asked. "And if so, do you have a guess as to how long it will take?"  
  
"There's no way of telling when it comes to years and time in different worlds." Meggan said. "As for trying again, I'm sure they will. They've lost two machines now and the Fuhrer will not tolerate that now will he? Don't worry though, we can help you fight them when the time comes."  
  
Moira came in later, her face filled with frustration as she sat down and put her head in her hands. She looked up when StarPryde touched her shoulder lightly and she sighed, shaking her head.  
  
"'is 'ands cannae be 'ealed wi' oot breakin' 'em agin." She explained sadly. "An' Ah dinnae thin' 'is body weel be able to take tha' kind o' abuse anymore either."  
  
"But will he live?" StarPryde asked. Moira was quiet, thinking it over slowly on how best to tell her.  
  
"'is body took a lot o' abuse o'er the course o' three years." She explained slowly. "Et was a miracle tha' 'e made et 'ere in fac'! Ah dinnae thin' 'e 'as too much time lef', lass. Ah'm sorry."  
  
"But can I see him?" StarPryde asked slowly. Moira nodded, and she was off, phasing through the floor right into the med lab. She found Kurt laying in the softest bed, pillows propped under his head so that it was raised up to let him see everything. IV's were in his arms, giving him the vitamins and nutrients he needed too late. His eyes were closed in light slumber.  
  
Walking up to his bedside, StarPryde looked at his frail body and she covered her mouth with one hand as tears welled up in her eyes. She touched his forehead with the tips of her fingers and he opened his eyes slowly, looking at her for a moment before he recognized her.  
  
"Kit..." he whispered, slowly trying to sit up. She tried to stop him, pressing down on his chest lightly and telling him to rest, but Kurt was always a stubborn man and she was finally forced to just help him up. Adjusting himself slowly, Kurt looked up at Kitty and he wrapped his thin arms around her, giving her a hug that felt more like feathers were being thrown at her.  
  
"Kurt, you need to save your strength." StarPryde said.  
  
"Moira told me about... the children." Kurt said, looking up at her. "Kurt and Johanna? I... I want to see them..." StarPryde couldn't deny Kurt anything, and she was soon back with both of her children after telling them who the man was and that they needed to be very careful because he was very weak.  
  
Johanna went up to him first, looking up at him with her golden eyes in wonder. He smiled at her faintly, and she slowly smiled back, slowly holding up her arms for him to pick her up.  
  
"Johanna..." StarPryde started. His arms trembling with the effort, Kurt slowly leaned forward and he picked his daughter up, placing her carefully on his left knee as he ignored the roaring protests his hands were making the whole time. Smiling, he looked over her shoulder at his son, his tail swaying faintly.  
  
Kurt was hiding behind his mother, unsure of what to make out of this weird person his mommy said was his daddy. He looked like Nightcrawler, only he was really sick and weak looking. He looked up at his mother for support, but she only told him that it was all right, that this was his daddy.  
  
Flicking his tail to one side, Kurt slowly walked up to the man and instead of making him pick him up, he climbed onto his lap, looking at him with a serious expression on his face of worry.  
  
His eyes had started to sting when his little girl raised up her hands to be picked up by daddy. When both children were sitting with him on the bed, he burst into tears, his whole body trembling badly.  
  
"[i]God is good.[/i]" he said, reverting to Romani in his sickness. "[i]He has let me see my children before I die! Praise God![/i]"  
  
They stayed in the med lab for the rest of the day until it was the children's bedtime. Kurt gently helped him off of his bed and he watched them as they left the room, Johanna looking over her shoulder at him and smiling faintly.  
  
"[i]They are beautiful.[/i]" he whispered, forgetting that StarPryde didn't know a lot of the Romani language. "[i]They will grow up strong and beautiful. God is good to us.[/i]" StarPryde let him continue talking, stroking his head gently, as he rested his head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.  
  
Leaning forward, StarPryde kissed on the brow, the cheek, and finally his lips, brushing a strand of hair away from his face.  
  
He died during the night peacefully in his sleep. 


	4. 4

Meggan had been right of course. The Fuhrer had indeed ordered another machine to be made, and as soon as it was ready, he sent Hauptmann Englande through with his best troops and weapons.  
  
But it had taken four years for them to make another machine, and in that time Meggan's knowledge of how to make weapons proved very useful. The weapons were made by W.H.O., and all of the soldiers in the army force were skilled in using them in no time.  
  
They had thought that they would be going in and destroying everything; they were dead wrong.  
  
The fighting was mainly on the beach, blood washing into the sea and soaking into the sands from both sides of the conflict. Excalibur fought the hardest of all, wanting revenge for everything that had happened.  
  
StarPryde was focusing on Hauptmann Englande. It was his fault that her family was dead. It was his fault that Kurt's family; both Romani and Raven and Aloysius, was dead. It was him who tortured her and the others for hours on end in their own world, and he had made Kurt suffer before he came to this world and died after only coming to the world a few hours before.  
  
She was going to make the bastard suffer.  
  
When the two fought, her daggers flew with deadly accuracy, but Hauptmann Englande was able to block them, and they were soon fighting hand to hand, StarPryde twisting her body around as she aimed kicks and punches to his face and balls.  
  
Hauptmann Englande laughed, seeing what parts of his body she was focusing on. He started to taunt her, asking her what had happened to her whore of a husband Nightcrawler.  
  
It got the response he wanted.  
  
Screaming, StarPryde tried to kick his head high, and he grabbed her by the ankle and twisted it around, breaking it instantly. He threw her down to the ground and he slammed his foot into her back, making her cry out in pain. He kicked her in the face to make her roll onto her back and he raised up his foot to crush her skull.  
  
That's when he felt something slash across his face, taking out one of his eyes.  
  
Screaming, Hauptmann Englande stumbled back, holding his bleeding face. The slashing occurred again and it lanced down his back, leaving long traces of wounds all over it. He tried to punch around blindly, but he ended up losing his other eye in the process.  
  
Everyone stopped their own fights and they watched in awe and wonder as invisible blades of some sort were slaughtering Hauptmann Englande, cutting him up everywhere. The last blow dealt was a move that left him on his knees, wailing like an animal as he cupped a bloody mass that had once been his manhood. His throat was slit a second later and he fell to the ground dead.  
  
The soldiers gave up instantly, throwing down their weapons and raising up their hands over their heads.  
  
StarPryde stared at Hauptmann Englande's body in confusion, wondering what in the hell had done that to him from out of nowhere.  
  
[i]Katzchen[/i]  
  
StarPryde looked up, frowning slightly  
  
[i]Katzchen, turn around[/i], it laughed.  
  
Slowly, StarPryde turned around, and her eyes grew wide in surprise.  
  
Kurt was standing a bit off, smiling at her as he sheathed his bloody rapiers. He was dressed in clothes that she remembered him modeling once to show her what he used to dress like with his Romani family, a golden hoop in one ear and a red bandanna tied around his head, the ends waving in the wind.  
  
Raising up one hand, Kurt smiled at her and the vision faded away.  
  
Shaking her head slowly, StarPryde turned around and she smiled at Fay as she ran over to hug her, laughing at their victory.  
  
It was over. It was finally over.  
  
This was Kurt's final gift to his friends that he considered family back on his world. 


End file.
